"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Andrey Serbinenko" wrote in message
...
It is not the pure dollar cost that matters, but the effectiveness of the
money spent, i.e. cost vs. utility. It is especially true for something
requiring continuous money infusions like owning an airplane.

You would have to be doing a LOT of traveling, to places where you couldn't
fly your own airplane, AND renting airplanes at those destinations for your
scenario to have any relevance whatsoever. Like, on the order of one such
trip a week.

I'd be surprised if ANY of the 600,000+ certificated pilots in the US meet
that criteria, but if the number is non-zero, it can't be more than a
handful at most.

*Raising Hand...*

You've just described my world to a tee...

I'd love to own my own plane but I fly east of the Mississippi (if not all
the way to the east coast) from Phoenix every Thursday and return on Monday
for 34 of the 40 week NASCAR season. And, unlike a traveling salesman who
can reschedule a meeting, I *have* to get where I'm going or I don't work.
The relatively short turnaround each week means I don't have the time to
meander my way back and forth accross the country in a light single or light
twin. The "no work = no pay" issue means I don't have any extra time to sit
on the ground for any length of time so if I were to get trapped by Wx I'd
be seriously SOL.

I could fly myself to the races we do in Fontana, CA and Las Vegas, but my
schedule at these events is such that I need to be on the ground by 8am.
Yes, it would be doable even in a C172 ... but if I get hamstrung by the Wx
or a mechanical issue, my "employer" isn't going to be too happy. You don't
just call AccountTemps to replace someone in my work world. Too many last
second bailouts (read: more than one...) would probably get me fired.

One twist is that our travel is usually taken care of well in advance (at
least 6 mos or more) of the start of the race season. With almost three
full months left in this year, I'm already looking at next February and
March.

Now, if I lived in Charlotte or Asheville and could back up my own flying
with the ability to reach many of the tracks by car if last second Wx or
repairs popped up, I think (for me) owning would make much more sense.

We actually have several pilots on our crew including one guy who is based
up in Conneticut and flies himself to every event east of the Mississippi in
a Beech Duchess. It's sweet !!

Regards,

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ